Trajan Jeffcoat, EDGE, Arkansas (Senior)

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Strengths :

  • Takeoff
  • Pad level is interesting
  • Nice Swim move
  • Could be interesting in certain situations
  • Interesting potential in coverage

 

Weaknesses :

  • Loses too much time on his
  • Very average reading ability
  • Bend is very average
  • Counter move 
  • Drops his head too much
  • Watch out for unnecessary flags

TTProfil

 
Trajan Jeffcoat, or the eternal hope. If Trajan has been seen by many as a hope, it's not for nothing, and when we see that his last stop was at Arkansas, it's not for nothing either. Trajan has what it takes to interest certain coaches, and he proved it during five seasons of college football. 
 
Starting with his Takeoff which is quite explosive and aggressive, especially with a physique like his, because Trajan is a big boy. Measured at 6'4" and 266 lbs, his performance at the NFL Combine was more than encouraging, placing him in the upper range of EDGE players in most tests. He ran a solid 4.69 in the 40-yard dash and particularly excelled in the broad jump, demonstrating the power he can generate with his initial burst.

Even if overally his Pad level is pretty good, but he doesn't always win the battle of the Leverage because his Pad level is obtained artificially by lowering his head, which ultimately is quite futile. A Pad level which could therefore prove interesting if he were better directed and utilized, which is why I include it in the strengths, but we'll talk about it again in the weaknesses as well.

Another area where Trajan Jeffcoat's potential is undeniable is his ability to rush the opposing QB. Despite many flaws, Trajan has proven that he can, despite limited playing time, put pressure on quarterbacks in the SEC conference, one of the biggest in college football. In five seasons of college football, and despite a situational pass rusher role in most of the teams he has played for, Trajan has managed to compile an impressive 15.5 sacks, a significant number.
If his explosiveness at the snap helps him a lot, Trajan can also rely on a nice Swim move That he seems to master but unfortunately is almost never used when it should. Naturally, since Trajan doesn't use his Swim at the right moment, he doesn't reap the benefits despite having a real potential as a number 1 weapon. Additionally, this very good Swim move, it's important to mention Jeffcoat's good work in hand fighting once again in pass rush situations. He doesn't hesitate to attack the hands of opposing blockers with his quick and aggressive hands.

Always in pass rush situations, Trajan becomes a much more interesting player when he relies on his speed and doesn't seek constant engagement with his blocker. When he decides to play to his strengths, he becomes much more dangerous and flashes more, but the problem is that these reps are still far too rare.
It's difficult to say definitively whether Trajan Jeffcoat's inconsistency stems from poor coaching or personal tendencies. (Considering the performance level of Landon Jackson, the other EDGE from Arkansas, or even considering the performance level of Missouri's EDGEs in recent seasons, Trajan, having been part of the Tigers' roster before transferring to Arkansas.) His performance could be influenced by a combination of factors including coaching, personal motivation, and adaptability. This ambiguity could significantly impact his draft stock and perceived value, as teams may have concerns about his ability to consistently perform at a high level.
 
Just like Landon Jackson, his teammate in this Razorbacks defense, Jeffcoat is capable of dropping into zone coverage, and with a bit of work, I think he could become decent in this aspect of the game, especially with his explosiveness, which could allow him to really stand out in certain situations. 
 
But if Trajan indeed has some interesting points in his game, he has, in my opinion, just as many weaknesses, if not more.
 
To transition to the last strong point we just discussed, I have serious concerns about Trajan's reading ability. While in a pass rush situation, he often makes no reads and simply attacks his gap, in zone coverage situations, it's much more complicated. Unlike his teammate Landon Jackson, he lacks the necessary reading skills, and most of the time, he seems content to cover grass without any awareness of his surroundings. I believe that if Trajan ends up on a team that requires him to drop into zone coverage a moderate or significant amount, it will take significant work on his reading and movement before we see him truly shine.

On the pass rush side, which is where Jeffcoat is most promising, I find him having the major flaw of power rushers; he spends far too much time grappling with his opponent. It's even more unfortunate when we see that despite what he thinks he is (a power rusher), Trajan is much better when he plays more technically and relies on his speed (like a speed rusher, ultimately).
The issue that arises, assuming a coach seeks to develop him today as a speed rusher, is that by remaining in the power rush mindset, Trajan has never truly worked on his Bend and he currently has a Bend which I would qualify as really average, and I would even say below what one might expect from a player like him.
Finally, despite a decent Swim move, a good burst, and decent explosiveness that could allow him to work his Speed to Power or even his Spin move rather fast and fluid, we see far too little use of the Counter move from Trajan. Again, this is a point that, if worked on properly, could allow Jeffcoat to greatly increase his effectiveness in pass rushing.

As I wrote a few lines above, Trajan wastes far too much time trying to battle against his opponents, but what bothers me even more is that he often does so by attacking with his head down upon contact. Besides being dangerous for his own health as well as that of his opponents, it's utterly foolish because due to this specific point, Trajan exacerbates his minor reading issues since he loses sight of the ball while lowering his head. And since he's no longer able to read the game, he also prolongs the time spent battling with the opposing blocker because he ends up having to catch up on what's happening but with a second's delay.
Furthermore, as I also mentioned above, although he believes himself to be a Power rusher, I think Trajan is mistaken on this point. While he can indeed show strength on certain reps thanks to his Takeoff it's primarily because he attacks most of the time by lowering his head like a ram and takes advantage of that. In my opinion, this doesn't make him a true Power rusher who dominates through genuine power in the legs, arms, punch, and resulting techniques. For a supposed Power rusher, he can sometimes struggle against powerful offensive linemen (as was the case this season against Alabama's Offensive Tackle JC Latham, for example) but also against some powerful tight ends. This isn't a good sign for the rest of his career when considering the beasts in the NFL at the OL position.

As for run-stopping situations, it's rather average based on his years at Mizzou. This season at Arkansas, in addition to having a very small sample size of plays with few reps on normal or heavy packages, on the reps where, despite a Pass rush-oriented package, the opposing team decides to run the ball, Trajan really struggles. So, it's challenging to assess him based on his current level. 
 
Finally, another warning sign I noticed this season, which I don't recall seeing in these kinds of situations during his seasons at Mizzou, is in situations of misplaced aggression. Therefore, it will be necessary to be careful of the unnecessary flags that Trajan can sometimes draw by making a wrong move.
 
 
 
For now, I'm personally not convinced by Trajan Jeffcoat. What he showed this season is still too average, and many things that could have been improved over time still haven't been. That's not a good sign in my opinion. I'm afraid Trajan Jeffcoat may have simply reached his ceiling, that of an eternal hope who will never break out because, as in his last two seasons with the Missouri Tigers, he simply doesn't stand out on tape. Unfortunately, regardless of what is said, for a player with so many years on the field, that's a stain, and it could count during the draft. 

If his usage wasn't optimal at Arkansas due to sporadic utilization, was it really a coach's choice or simply the coaches realizing that no matter what they did, Trajan wouldn't improve further and simply wasn't up to par? That's something we'll probably never know with the information we have. So, it remains to be seen what will happen for him in the NFL. Personally, I have serious doubts about his ability to perform at the next level given what he's shown over the past three seasons in college football. But you never know. If he lands in the right system with a coach who can bring out the best in him, he could finally turn out to be the player we've been waiting for. But for now, I can't blindly believe that he'll realize his full potential once he reaches the pros.

That's why, personally, I wouldn't select him before the end of Day 3, considering him more of a developmental project. I prefer not to invest too heavily given the high risk associated with Trajan Jeffcoat's development. With a late 3rd-day pick, I know that even if the project doesn't pan out, I haven't staked the future of my franchise on it.

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